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Once a car gains classic status ongoing costs are needed to maintain its value. Classic owners know and accept this.
Batteries are expensive, but not as expensive as an overhaul of an engine which can run into tens of thousands.
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Once a car gains classic status ongoing costs are needed to maintain its value. Classic owners know and accept this.
Batteries are expensive, but not as expensive as an overhaul of an engine which can run into tens of thousands.
Tens of thousands? Huh?
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I daren't add up what the W124 Merc Coupe has cost in maintenance and other costs over the last 15 or so years, keeping such cars long term is a very expensive business.
Yes the original Honda Insight is probably the most likely, and when was the last time you saw an original Prius?
Prius 2 can now be found really cheap, not helped because it's looks were not great when new and it hasn't aged well, helps with value if cars are pretty, quirky is fine too, but what is now ugly isn't helpful at all.
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Re the MK1 Insight, looks like a tiny spaceship, i'd like one in this colour!,
pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/jpg/200607/2000-honda-in...g
You can probably also throw in the VW XL1. Though any you find for sale is already going to be very expensive. A personal project for (then VAG boss) Ferdinand Piech, the diesel hybrid is capable of around 280mpg!
cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/ALp3x/s1/2015-vw-xl1-for...g
Also, even though they are still trying to get the project fully off the ground, the (hydrogen fuel cell) River Simple RASA. If they don't manage, what prototypes they have already made will become sought after. But also, this is not the kind of vehicle most folk want, so even if they do get into proper production, the RASA is likely to be a slow seller so will always be scarce,
i2.wp.com/www.motoringresearch.com/wp-content/uplo...1
Edited by badbusdriver on 12/01/2020 at 11:26
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I daren't add up what the W124 Merc Coupe has cost in maintenance and other costs over the last 15 or so years, keeping such cars long term is a very expensive business.
Should've bought British! Most expensive bills for my well engineered durable pre W124 1980 TR7 in my 39yrs ownership - complete respray and tart-up 1992 - £470; new water pump 2002 £172.72; stainless steel exhaust 1992 £146.49. Uses very little oil and tyre rubber ;-).
In 60yrs time a survivor of the umpteen Tesla Model 3s about to flood the world might achieve classic status similar to a 60yr old VW Beetle today.
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Should've bought British! Most expensive bills for my well engineered durable pre W124 1980 TR7 in my 39yrs ownership - complete respray and tart-up 1992 - £470; new water pump 2002 £172.72; stainless steel exhaust 1992 £146.49. Uses very little oil and tyre rubber ;-).
Whilst i agree i should not have bought German, and have learned that lesson the hard way never to be repeated, my choice should and would have been Japanese, quite why we ended up with 3 x 124's at one time i shall never know, talk about glutton for punishment.
Your costs are low because you leave the oil in till it needs to be dug out :-)
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Should've bought British! .....
Whilst i agree i should not have bought German, and have learned that lesson the hard way never to be repeated,
Depends on the German. I was once tempted to buy and keep a not-very-old M-B SL (R107) All fur coat and extremely rusty knickers. Thank goodness I stuck to my Ziebarted TR7 plus galvanised and, most recently, aluminium Audi.
Your costs are low because you leave the oil in till it needs to be dug out :-)
No digging - just remove sump and bonded tar, throw on bonfire, reattach next day;-}
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I daren't add up what the W124 Merc Coupe has cost in maintenance and other costs over the last 15 or so years, keeping such cars long term is a very expensive business.
It would be great to know the cost of buying and running the W124 to compare with say buying new and changing every three years on a similar car. The 124 has been highly praised as on of the best cars ever but some parts are getting hard to find apparently.
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For a true classic (and I don't mean Mk1 Fiestas) tens of thousands is quite possible for a full engine removal, strip down, overhaul and upgrade to ensure it doesn't need doing again in a few years time.
Its why many cars don't reach classic status as the value never increases to cover ever increasing costs so they get scrapped.
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It isn't going to cost tens of thousands of pounds to do that to a Morris Minor or an MGB, or are they not 'true classics'?.
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Its why many cars don't reach classic status as the value never increases
in the case of EVs and Hybrids probably the most useful will be Hybrids but not as classics, parts will be wanted and EV batteries will be used to power homes and the motor recycled as they become smaller and more powerful
I see no reason why they would become classics as they dont have the appeal of the older motors, you can work on them, not a lot you can do with new tech
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I don't think hybrid vehicles will buck the trend. EV is probably a better long term bet but they tend to lack the drama of early cars with the noise, smells, performance etc..
They may appear in museums but will owners get together in muddy windswept fields to discuss the merits or limitations of a Nissan Leaf. And would anyone come to see them anyway.:
I wonder whether the classic car movement is sadly going to slowly die.
- cars are becoming more like white goods - they serve a purpose and get thrown. Failure these days is likely to be ECUs, emissions etc rather than rust.
- young people do not typically fix cars. They go for possibly two years between services even when following manufacturers schedules. So there is less sense of identity with early cars, nor ability to fix them
- more people are living in cities and towns. Ownership of cars is declining due to costs, lack of parking, availability of public transport etc. Renting and car sharing apps are allowing people to get a car only when they need it.
- cars from before around 1980 can largely be fixed with traditional skills - machining, welding, upholstery, sheet metal forming, wood frames etc. After that time cars were increasingly the the product of the IT and plastics industries - this requires tooling, software, specialist materials etc.
The demise of classic cars is not something I personally look forward to being a moderate petrol head in my youth. But the emotions once attached to car ownership - freedom, status, power, control etc are being displaced by (the rather tedious but worthy) environment, emissions, regulation, safety. etc.
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"....will owners get together in muddy windswept fields to discuss the merits or limitations of a Nissan Leaf?"
They won't get together to discuss the Nissan Micra either! Or any Nissan apart from the sports coupes.
Point taken Terry, but I'm a little more optimistic, at least that cars will still be fun to drive. As an example, the Kia E-Niro has a terrific stepoff from rest (I've test-driven one) and has better acceleration figures than any other Niro, petrol or hybrid.
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"....will owners get together in muddy windswept fields to discuss the merits or limitations of a Nissan Leaf?"
They won't get together to discuss the Nissan Micra either! Or any Nissan apart from the sports coupes.
Point taken Terry, but I'm a little more optimistic, at least that cars will still be fun to drive. As an example, the Kia E-Niro has a terrific stepoff from rest (I've test-driven one) and has better acceleration figures than any other Niro, petrol or hybrid.
its not all doom and gloom as a lot of people that buy electric cars will do the same as normal cars, better paint jobs, alter body panels like some companies do to make the car faster and look better, and probably put better HiFi in the cars, thats without the possible electrical bits that could be tweeked to give better acceleration and top speeds
all without getting your hands dirty ;)
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